USS Myrmidon

History
Name	USS Myrmidon
Builder	Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down	25 August 1944
Launched	28 September 1944
Commissioned	9 March 1945
Decommissioned	7 July 1947
Stricken	1 April 1960
Fate	Sold, 21 December 1960
General characteristics
Class and type	Achelous class repair ship
Displacement	2,125 long tons (2,159 t) light 4,100 long tons (4,166 t) full
Length	328 ft (100 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	11 ft 2 in (3.40 m)
Propulsion	2 × General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed	12 knots (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Complement	253 officers and enlisted men
Armament	2 × quad 40 mm guns (with Mark 51 director) 2 × twin 40 mm guns (with Mark 51 director) 6 × twin 20 mm guns

USS Myrmidon (ARL-16) was one of 39 Achelous-class landing craft repair ships built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for the Myrmidons (in Greek mythology, warriors of the fierce Thessalian tribe who accompanied King Achilles, their leader, to the Trojan War), she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Originally laid down as LST-948 by Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard, Inc. of Hingham, Massachusetts 25 August 1944; named Myrmidon 11 September 1944; launched 28 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Marguerite Ross; placed in reduced commission 19 October 1944; transferred to Jacksonville, Florida; decommissioned there 10 November 1944; converted to ARL 16 by Merrill Stevens Shipyard, Jacksonville, Florida; and commissioned 9 March 1945 with Lieutenant Edgar A. Simpson in command.

Service history

After shakedown along the east coast, Myrmidon departed Norfolk, Virginia for the Pacific on 10 April. She reached San Diego late in the month; then, after loading cargo at San Francisco, she steamed to Pearl Harbor on 19 May for duty with Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet. Sailing in convoy 30 May, she steamed via the Marshall Islands to Iwo Jima where she arrived 22 June. During the closing weeks of fighting in the Pacific Myrmidon operated at Iwo Jima repairing, disbursing, and provisioning ships at that important American forward base. Following the Japanese surrender, she continued service and repair duties throughout the Pacific from the Marianas to Pearl Harbor.

Late in 1946 she returned to the Gulf coast and was placed in a reduced service status in January 1947. She decommissioned at Orange, Texas 7 July 1947 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She remained berthed with ships of the Orange Group for more than a decade. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 1 April 1960, and she was sold 21 December 1960 to River Equipment, Inc. of Memphis, Tennessee, and later resold to the Dravo Corporation, Neville Island, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 16 January 1961. Resold to the Avondale Shipbuilding Corporation c. 1962, her final fate is unknown.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• "LST-948 / ARL-16 Myrmidon". Amphibious Photo Archive. Retrieved 26 April 2007.